Trump’s Tax Bill May Be Reason for Crypto Rout

Let’s be clear. The American market for Bitcoin is an aspirational one; but the true volume is done in Asia. Instead of going through the trouble of setting up shell corporations to launder their money, the Chinese have been using crypto currencies, which was beautifully marketed as some sort of rebellious form of capitalism — creating millions of bedroom billionaires.

All of that might be ending soon, thanks in part of President Trump.

He’s gonna sick the IRS hard on your asses — tossing evil tax evaders into ass-raping prisons.

Bloomberg:

New limits in the bill would bar cryptocurrency owners from deferring capital gains taxes when trading one type of virtual currency for another — effectively closing a gray area in the tax code, experts say.

Those gains can be considerable. Bitcoin, which had an initial price of less than 1 cent when it first traded in 2010, was around $1,000 as 2017 began and surpassed $19,000 this week, at least briefly, before paring some of the gains. Many enthusiasts jump between bitcoin and a long list of similarly volatile competitors, such as ether.

For investors who hold the virtual currencies, “the bill is bad news,” said Kelsey Lemaster, a tax attorney with Goodwin Procter LLP. “Every time you trade one digital currency for another, one token for another, it’s going to be a taxable event.”

The change might not deter traders, who have been leaping into cryptocurrencies without researching what they are — let alone their tax implications, said Brian Kristiansen, a partner in the digital currency services practice at Friedman LLP.

Under current law, Bitcoiners have been protected under the ‘like-kind exchanges’, swapping one investment for another, notably Ethereum. That shit ain’t gonna fly in 2018. You’re gonna get taxed out.

The change goes into effect January 1st.

Bitcoin is off by 7,000 points from recent record highs, trading at $12,500.